A serving Met Police officer allegedly raped a female colleague after an eight-hour drinking binge and then accused her of treating him ‘like a sex offender’ the next day, a court heard.
PC Ireland Teddington ‘Ted’ Murdock, 26, denies violating the woman at her Clapham flat after the leaving drinks party for a Sergeant at a north London pub.
At the time PC Murdock – known as ‘Ted’ – was attached to the Central North Command Unit, having joined the Met in January 2019.
The jury heard the WhatsApp messages exchanged between PC Murdock and the complainant the day after the alleged incident, in which she tells him: ‘I’m in a stupid amount of pain.’
PC Murdock responded by saying ‘You’re treating me like a sex offender,’ and added: ‘Just say Ted is a rapist.’
PC Ireland Teddington ‘Ted’ Murdock, 26, denies violating the woman at her Clapham flat after the leaving drinks party for a Sergeant at a north London pub
The defendant, of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape.
Inner London Crown Court heard the pair ‘kissed passionately’ at a bus stop outside the Abbey Tavern while waiting for a 1.00am Uber, with the WPC sitting on PC Murdock’s lap.
They returned to her shared flat in the early hours of September 25, 2021, where she says she consented to sexual activity, but not to all of PC Murdock’s behaviour and he raped her and slept over until the following morning.
Agreeing she bought PC Murdock shots of alcohol at the Kentish Town pub the woman conceded telling him regarding her alcohol intake: ‘I have a lot of catching up to do.’
She told the trial she had approximately four drinks that night and at the bus stop PC Murdock tried to put his hand inside her jeans.
The female officer insisted things went too far in her bedroom and she did not consent to PC Murdock’s actions.
‘I said something like: ‘Woah’ or ‘Stop’ I can’t remember,’ she told the court from the witness box, giving evidence without a screen.
She did not report PC Murdock immediately and several month passed before she complained. ‘I did not feel safe to report it, we were always together,’ she told the jury via a video recorded police interview.
Inner London Crown Court heard the pair ‘kissed passionately’ at a bus stop outside the Abbey Tavern while waiting for a 1.00am Uber, with the WPC sitting on PC Murdock’s lap
‘In a ten day work period we would be together eight or nine days.’
The officer said she had to change her bedsheets after the rape. ‘I got rid of them right after. There was just a lot of little bloody spots.’
She did not seek any medical treatment, adding: ‘I did not want to go to a GP and have questions raised. I was embarrassed.
‘I was fairly numb to it. There was no proper thought after the incident.’
However, she insisted PC Murdock’s intentions in the bedroom were clear that night. ‘He was definitely positioning himself and then he tried again.’
She went to work the next day, but said it was a challenging shift. ‘It was difficult. It hurt to sit down and I was in pain and it was dawning on me what happened.
‘He said he did not remember anything because he was so drunk.
‘He was drunk that night. His speech was all slurred. He was not falling over or anything, but it was obvious he had quite a lot to drink.
‘On the day it happened I rang one of my flatmates to say he did something last night I was not happy with.’
When they woke up that morning PC Murdock admits he went in for a cuddle, but was shunned by the woman. ‘I told him that he really hurt me last night.’
PC Murdock said: ‘I’m not going to stay here if there’s an atmosphere,’ and they agreed he should leave.
The trial heard the female officer informally reported PC Murdock for rape to her professional colleagues during a pub quiz night on January 9, 2022 – over three months after that night.
Fellow officers described her as crying as she revealed the details, saying she was hesitant to say anything earlier because PC Murdock knows where she lives and works and her parents’ address.
The PC Murdock was investigated by the Serious Sexual Offences Department – commonly known as Sapphire – based at Brixton Police Station.
The trial continues…
